The Honor Academy… What is it?

I want to fill you in on my life the last few months and try to really express in words/pictures to you what the Honor Academy is and what my usual day looks like. Let me help you see into this journey that I began August 19, 2011 with around 275 first year interns.

First off…

The entire student body is separated into FAMILY CORES. I have 9 sisters (4 which are my roommates and 5 that live next door) in my core. My Core Advisor, Courtney Broyles,  is a second year graduate intern that is there 24/7 as a mentor, leader, and friend. She has a specific vision for us this year and wants to help push us to growth and maturity. I have 9 brothers and a brother Core Advisor as well. Together our family is over 20 people! I love them all. It really is awesome the healthy friendships and trust that is formed through this. We do a lot together from playing volleyball, getting in the Word, studying for tests, or hanging out on the weekend.

On Monday mornings, the entire student body has Corporate EXERCISE at 5:30am. We are also required to work out for 20 minutes 4 times a week. It helps us to remember to have discipline in our everyday lives.

We have CLASSES everyday to develop us as leaders and to keep our minds engaged to learn. The classes I had this semester were Portfolio Papers, Character Development, Foundations (of Christianity), Ethics and Leadership, Habitudes (Attitudes of a healthy leader), Growth Groups (Woman’s Small group), Risen (Women’s program), Old Testament Biblical Survey, and Enrichment (National and campus news). I am earning college credit hours for a few of the classes through ORU. Classes that I’m excited about this coming 2^nd semester are World View and Apologetics. I’ve also been reading books along with the classes and others on my own.

We also have CHAPELS once a week with guest speakers. They have invited my dad to come as a speaker in May!!! YAY!!! Everyone who did The P.E.A.R.L. with him is looking forward to it. We also have Encounter services every Wednesday night… which is more relaxed  like a youth group service.

Then each intern has MINISTRY PLACEMENT… our daily jobs. We WORK 6-7HOURS a day for the different branches of Teen Mania Ministries (Global Expeditions, Aquire the Fire, Center for Creative Media, K-Crew, and Honor Academy). One of the goals of the Honor Academy is to instill good work ethic and skills that will prepare and benifit interns and alumni for years to come as they move on in life.

I’ve been serving in the Global Expeditions call center.  My job is to follow up on teenagers who have requested more information about mission trips while they were at an Aquire the Fire youth event. This has been a cool opportunity for me since I was blessed to go on 2 life-changing missions trips with Global Expeditions when I was still in highschool. Everyone who works in the call center has become a great team focused on the same mission…. The Great Commission! From getting their trip applications, answering questions, praying with them, helping them with fundraising ideas, talking to their parents… that’s what we do several hours every day.J It will be so rewarding come summer to see all the teenagers we helped get on summer missions trips to be sent to share the love of Jesus all over the globe in 2012!

There is a PRAYER ROOM that is open 24-7. There are INTRAMURAL SPORTS… football, basketball, volleyball… that we compete in with our family cores. We are also required to get plugged in to a LOCAL CHURCH in the area on Sundays. I’m so thankful I found a great local church to be a part of while here.

So as you can see… our schedules are PACKED!!  We live in dorms, eat in the cafeteria, and walk everywhere. The campus is spread out so I feel like I’m always on the go to make it to my next destination on time. Now that you know a basic overview, I’m going to post a video to share with you about what God has been doing in my life.

It has been one of the most challenging seasons I’ve ever walked through, but growth doesn’t occur when things are easy… so I am thankful for this time in my life to grow. THANK YOU for supporting me in PRAYERS and FINANCES. You are a part of everything I do, and I wouldn’t be who I am without you. It's also been wonderful to be home for Christmas and spend time with my family!  



Second semester begins early on January 2nd to prepare for the incoming January Interns and a new season of life at the Honor Academy. I think the best part of my experience has been being surrounded by people passionately pursing Jesus and equipping me to do the same with excellence.

My FLESH and my heart may FAIL, but God is the STRENGTH of my heart and my PORTION forever. psalm 73:26

Endurance: Lasting QUALITY.

So, my daddy joined me in Garden Valley, TX last week to participate in a Life Transforming Event called the P.E.A.R.L.

[Physical, Emotional, And, Relational Learning]. 

It was definitely the hardest thing I have ever done in my life!

But SOOOO worth it. Oh man, 466 is my hero!

There's a lot that I could write about the experiences I had with my dad during the P.E.A.R.L., BUT for starters these videos say most of it for me. Thank you Mr. Stoner for capturing these!

 

...and get ready to watch me bawl my eyes out. Haha. This video was taken about 5 minutes before the event ENDED!

YES, I FINISHED! :D

What does it mean to endure?

Endurance: the ability or strength to continue or last. ...Lasting QUALITY.

Even before the P.E.A.R.L. the Lord was teaching me what this word really means.  My whole life I've been a "sprinter." Yes, physically in track I used to just run the 50 yard dash, but also spiritually. Whether it be on a missions trip, summer camp, or season of fire for God, it was always in spurts of energy. If you know me you know that I'm either ALL in or not in at all. I give myself completely to the goal or vision at hand. This is one of my greatest strengths, but also one of my greatest weaknessess. Along the way I've also had seasons of extreem laziness and apathy. It's been this UP and DOWN roller coaster, that although at times is SO fun, does NOT at all represent maturity or as the endurance definition puts it:

Lasting QUALITY.

Endurance is like running long-distances. It takes dicipline. It takes pacing. It takes the will to keep on going when you think you can't go any further. It takes maturity to see past what you can see on your own. It involves pain. It involves trouble breathing at times. It involves SWEAT (getting rid of IMPURITIES). It is worth it. We actually NEED it to be complete. WE NEED HIS JOY!

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an OPPORTUNITY for great JOY. For you know that when your faith is tested, your ENDURANCE has a chance to grow. SO LET IT GROW! For when your ENDURANCE is fully developed, you will be complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:2-4

This year at the Honor Academy God wants to teach me what endurance looks like in my relationship with Him and my relationships with others. It's a perfect environment to grow because of the leadership structure and accountability that is the foundation of everything. Already my Momma Core Advisor has blessed me SO much! Thank you Courtney Broyles for leading with your life and being willing to sacrifice everything for the Lord. Also, I love my sisters. Every single one of them has already taught me more about what it means to love. :)

But anyway, wrapping up all the thoughts on endurance...

Endurance is continually being filled by ABIDING in our King. It's not anything that we can do on our own!

Endurance is having the countenance of the Lord and praise always on our lips, not based on feelings. A response to WHO HE IS!

Endurance is surrendering because He is WORTHY, not because we'll get anything out of it. Again and again and again and again.

Endurance is NOT giving up when things are mundane or boring. Faithful in the small... faithful in the large...

Endurance is focusing on a goal that is greater than ourselves. Advancing the KINGDOM of God!

Endurance is sacrifice. I beat my body and make it my slave!

Endurance is not a single choice, but a bunch of choices every single day. It turns into a habit of choosing joy in the trials.

I want to live my life with maturity and endurance so that at the end there is no regrets and I have nothing left.

Endurance. It's a lifestyle.

I've been pretty sick this past week, but even through it God has been teaching me what it means to rest in Him. I'm definitely still learning that lesson! I got to spend the weekend with my Aunt and Uncle's house with my little cousins. It has been such a blessing to be here!  I LOVE IT! I want to be more like Landry Pearl in my faith. There is such purity in her sweet joy!

"My Presence will go with you, and I will give you REST." Exodus 33:14

Well, I should probably get some of that REST I keep talking about. Anyway, I just want to THANK YOU all for your continual prayer and support! It truly means the world to me that I have a family of encouragement back home if I ever need anything. I finally sent out THANK YOUs for those of you who have given financially so far. I appologize for how long it took me to get those out! You bless me more than you'll ever know. I love you all!

I LOVE YOUR MAIL! Thank you Mommy, Daddy, Nicole, Levi, Allie, Nana, Kasey, and everyone else who has blessed my litttle P.O. Box. the past few weeks. PO Box 2010 #622 Garden Valley, TX 75771 :)

Be JOYFUL in hope. Patient in affliction. Faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

It's all for Him!

-Kayla Marie.



#InternLife... Update:

             

I’ve been at the Honor Academy for over 2 weeks now. The Lord has been teaching me so much about what it means to endure, but before I go into that I’ll give my Nana and other Mommy supporters an update. There’s no way to even begin to write about everything! But here are some of the highlights:

-It has been such a cool opportunity to get to know people while I’ve been here. Everyone is at different places and came out of different backgrounds, but we all get to grow together this year. There are about 270 interns in my class so I’ve definitely not met them all… yet. It’s funny to see them all up at 6 am working out corporately. Yay discipline! Boo soreness! I have 9 sisters in my Core and 4 of those are my roommates. They’re such a blessing! I bought a box fan today because our room is a little too warm for comfort. ;) 

-I LOVE my ministry placement! I get to be a Global Expeditions encouragement representative. This basically means that I get to call teenagers that have already been accepted to go on a missions trip and encourage them, help them think of fundraising ideas, and pray for them. HOW COOL IS THAT?! They posted the new trips up on www.globalexpeditions.com this week. I WANT TO GO EVERYWHERE! But I need to pray and ask the Lord where He wants me to go this next summer. The exciting thing is that I will be working about 31 hours a week directly mobilizing young missionaries to change the world! The Lord is TOO faithful to me! 

 -One of my friends from my Uganda trip last year is in my core and the other one lives in the same dorm. It’s has been really great to see them again.

-I LOVE my new local church! It was an accident that my friends Hayley, Andrew, Ben, and I went last week because we missed the shuttle to the church we were originally planning on trying out. I KNOW it was the Lord! It already feels like home and the presence of the Lord fills that place. We got to go again today. Oh yeah! Grace Point FOR THE WIN!

 -Hmmmm…. Other than that. The food isn't that bad... we even get pop tarts with breakfast sometimes! #BESTDAYEVERI’ve lost my voice a few times. My friend Sola makes me laugh everyday! #UllllltimateSwagger I really love life. But it has definitely been hard some days. Abiding in my Creator has been a must. I'm trying to continually remind myself to not get so caught up in the Honor Academy's standards that I forget why I'm here: TO SEEK GOD. I love the 24/7 prayer room that they have on campus. It's my home away from home. :) 

Oh yeah! Send me mail! So far Kasey has y'all beat! PO Box 2010 #622 Garden Valley, TX 75771 :)

That’s all for an update ladies and gentlemen. Love you ALL! 

Thank you for your continual prayer and support. 

 

"The LORD bless you, and keep you;

The LORD make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you;

The LORD lift up His countenance on you,
And give you peace." 

Numbers 6:24-26

Better late than never?

Well, I know that Uganda was a whole year ago, but I wanted you to be able to hear and see a taste of what happened instead of just reading about it. Those kids still have my heart! Also, an update about what's my next season of life is going to look like. If you want to just see the picture slide show watch Part 2... I know I'm quite the rambler. I had to inherit something from my dad. ;) 

Thanks Chris and Christian for video help!

If you would like to join me in this adventure by donating go to:

1. www.honoracademy.com 

2. Click the "Donate" tab and choose "US Donors"

3. Search by my ID number 2558262

Every penny truly counts. :)

Thank you so much for your prayers, love, and support! Seriously, I cannot believe how blessed I am to have you all in my life. A week from today I will be starting the adventure year of a lifetime! I can't wait to see what God does in and through me. I have been so blessed! I need to be broken more and more. I know that I'm called to give my life away and even if it's scary He is ALWAYS faithful to take care of me every step of the way. To be honest, this week has been a little tough realizing everyone and everything I'm leaving. It's only when I'm out of my comfort zone that He can shape me into who I'm created to be. So... BRING IT ON! Much love!  -Kayla.

"I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. these are the things I will do; I will NOT forsake them." Isaiah 42:16

Jesus, I hold onto your promises everyday. I'm so thankful that you never run out of who you are! Thank you for never giving up on me and seeing value in me even when it's hard for me to see it. You hold me in your arms. You know what this next year holds and You're going to hold my hand every step of the way. Thanks for being my best friend! "In the multitude of anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul." (psalm 94:19) I need you more everyday.

In Your name, Amen.

For starters...

Hey guys, I'm trying to get everything up and running here in the next few days. The Uganda Video Report/Slideshow will be up on www.youtube.com/kaylamariesprague by the end of next week. Thanks so much for your patience and support! I leave for the Honor Academy in about 2 weeks! Isn't that crazy? I'm excited to see what God has in store for me this year.Well, I'll update this with a real blog soon. Love you all! -Kayla